"Oral Surgery Clinic"

I did the self check in this morning at 9.45 a.m. for a 10.00 a.m. appointment in the Oral Surgery Clinic. This was for a check up following a tooth extraction in January. I waited in the main area of the hospital until 10.40 a.m. and went to the reception desk as my name had not come up on the screen. I was told that the clinic were aware that I was here and to go and sit back down again. At 11.10 a.m. I went back to the reception desk to say I had still not been called. A member of staff then took me down to the clinic and I was sent in immediately to see somebody for my follow up appointment which literally took 2 minutes. After my appointment as I was about to leave the clinic, I saw a neighbour of mine who had an appointment in the same clinic at 11.00 a.m. and had been called through within 10 minutes of arriving in the waiting area of the main hospital. Something went very wrong with the appointment system as I had clearly been over looked. It is very frustrating having to wait this length of time to be seen. I appreciate that clinics can run a little late but this was ridiculous. If the system had worked properly, I am pretty certain that I would have been seen an hour earlier. I look forward to receiving your comments on this matter.

Responses

Thank you for the post. Please accept the sincere apologies from the Outpatient Services Manager. The Outpatient Services Manager has reminded all reception staff that should a patient query that they have not been called round that the system is fully checked to confirm that they are showing as arrived. An update to the system which we are hoping to install will show us if a patient has attempted to self check in and not completed the process, we will then be aware that they are in the hospital. We are happy to look into what happened that day if you wish. Email me jonathan.wright@meht.nhs.uk We really appreciate all comments on our services.